1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a saddle-ride type four-wheeled vehicle including an all terrain vehicle, for example, and more particularly, to technology to increase strength of the body frame of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is a saddle-ride type four-wheeled vehicle that is used mainly on rough terrain (for example, one disclosed in JP 2007-15640 A). In the saddle-ride type four-wheeled vehicle, front wheels are supported so as to be movable up and down by an upper arm extending from the body frame of the vehicle outward in a vehicle width direction (upper suspension arm 25 in JP 2007-15640 A) and by a lower arm (lower suspension arm 26 in JP 2007-15640 A). The upper arm includes a front rod and a rear rod extending outward in the vehicle width direction, and supports the front wheels at a forward end side of the front rod and the rear rod. Further, an upper end of a shock absorber for reducing upward and downward movement of the front wheels is supported by the body frame. The shock absorber extends obliquely downward between the front rod and the rear rod, and is coupled to the lower arm.
In the saddle-ride type four-wheeled vehicle disclosed in JP 2007-15640 A, the body frame includes a portion (hereinafter, referred to as lower frame (front frame member 43 and lower frame member 42 in JP 2007-15640 A)) extending under the engine to the rear of the vehicle, and a portion (hereinafter, referred to as front frame) which is situated between the right and left front wheels and supports the upper arm and the shock absorber. In JP 2007-15640 A, the front frame has, at the forefront thereof, a tubular upper frame member (hereinafter, referred to as front extending portion) 41 extending upward from its lower end connected to the lower frame. Further, the front frame includes a center frame member (hereinafter, referred to as beam) 48 extending rearward from a middle position of the front extending portion. Further, a shock-absorber-supporting portion for supporting the upper end of the shock absorber is formed at an upper portion of the front extending portion. Further, a pair of arm-supporting portions for supporting the front rod and the rear rod of the upper arm are formed in the beam.
In JP 2007-15640 A, in order to prevent interference between the front rod of the upper arm and the shock absorber, that is, in order to secure a sufficient clearance between the front rod and the shock absorber, the front extending portion is bent at the middle thereof. In other words, in JP 2007-15640 A, the front extending portion extends upward from its lower end connected to the lower frame, and after that, the front extending portion is bent rearward at a bent portion. In addition, the front extending portion has an inclined portion extending from the bent portion obliquely upward and rearward. The shock-absorber-supporting portion is formed in the inclined portion. Therefore, by bending the front extending portion at the middle thereof as just described, the shock-absorber-supporting portion can be situated further rearward than a proximal end of the front rod. As a result, it becomes easy to secure the clearance between the shock absorber and the front rod.